While the realm of building materials for houses, office buildings, and other structures includes brick, concrete, steel, wood and others, in general, the major components used, especially in housing, continue to be concrete and wood. A majority of houses constructed and being constructed are composed of poured or block concrete foundations with wood framing used to construct the house.
One problem with this approach is the rising costs associated with the materials as well as with the labor required for constructing a typical wood frame structure. Timber production especially is becoming more expensive when factoring in production costs, transportation, and the supply of wood, which, while a replenishable resource, takes many years to produce. Thus, many individuals are priced out of the housing market simply on the basis of material costs.
Conventional concrete construction is also expensive in terms of materials and labor costs. Poured concrete construction requires extensive form construction, normally requires that a concrete mixing truck be on site, and is relatively time-consuming, all of which escalate the costs involved. Construction with concrete blocks has similar disadvantages in terms of material delivery and the costs of setting the blocks. These problems are compounded by the extreme weight of the concrete or concrete product. Thus, a need exists in the art for a substitute medium which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art products and methods while retaining the inherent advantages.